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New Evidence Leads to Upgraded First Degree Murder Charge for James Fields, Accused of Charlottesville Car Attack

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The disturbing photo of bodies flying as a Dodge Challenger hurtles into them, shot from behind, has become one of the defining images of the Charlottesville rally on August 12th. The driver of that car, James Fields, faced second-degree murder charges for the death of Heather Heyer, along with felony charges for assault, wounding, and hit-and-run.

But after Thursday’s short hearing, where new video captured by restaurant security cameras was first played, Fields faces an upgraded charge of first-degree murder. The video shows Fields drive toward the crowd, stop, and reverse, repositioning before speeding into the crowd with greater momentum. Other evidence included footage and audio from the helicopter of Virginia State Police Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates and Lt. Jay Cullen, who both died when their helicopter crashed later in the day.

District Judge Robert Downer ruled that probable cause had been demonstrated for a premeditated attack, leaving Fields facing the possibility of life in prison if found guilty.

RVA Magazine has covered Charlottesville since August 12th. Every story we’ve published on this has received at least one comment asserting that Fields was defending himself and was under assault. It’s a popular conspiracy theory on YouTube and in dark corners of the web, and this new development directly contradicts it.

A common comment we receive

Prosecutors directly address the notion of self-defense in their questions for Charlottesville Detective Steven Young, who acknowledged that there was no indication that anyone had attacked Fields or his car before the crash.

The self-defense claim wasn’t addressed by his court-appointed attorney, Denise Lunsford. Instead, she asked Young a series of questions about his demeanor and connections, portraying Fields as remorseful and without ties to the white nationalist groups he had marched with.

Although Young said Fields had no known ties to the hate group, he was described by a former teacher, Derek Weimer, as being fascinated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Weimer also said he’d been known to the school administration for “deeply held, radical” views on race. Young said Fields apologized when police stopped him, and cried when he learned someone had died.

The number of victims was also updated at the trial. Authorities now report 36 people injured in the attack, many of them wheelchair-bound from their injuries. A trial date for Fields will be set on Monday at a grand jury hearing.

Bail denied for Charlottesville vehicular terrorist

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James Alex Fields, Jr., the 20-year-old Ohio man who allegedly killed one and injured 19 by plowing his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville Saturday, was denied bail when seen by a judge earlier today. BBC reports that Fields has been charged with one count each of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident which resulted in death, as well as three counts of malicious wounding.

Fields did not enter a plea, and told Judge Robert H. Downer Jr. he could not afford a lawyer. He was assigned Charlottesville lawyer Charles Weber as an attorney. Fields will next appear in court on August 25, at which time his court-appointed attorney could presumably request bail–though it remains to be seen whether he will do so.

Outside the hearing, reporters were harangued by white nationalist Matthew Heimbach, who according to the Southern Poverty Law Center has connections with hate groups including the American Freedom Party, the League Of The South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Council of Conservative Citizens. Heimbach attempted to spin the incident, in which Fields crashed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, as a scared man fleeing for his life. Heimbach claimed that “the nationalist community defended ourselves against thugs” and “these radical leftists…they are the one who came to kill us,” according to an NBC News report from the scene. Heimbach was eventually shouted down by counter-protesters chanting “Nazis go home.”

Meanwhile, on twitter, Oren Segal, director of the Center on Extremism for the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted a picture taken before the vehicular attack, in which Fields was shown standing with members of the West Coast-based neo-Nazi hate group Vanguard America.

Vanguard America denies any connection to Fields, and claimed that his appearance wearing one of their shirts in no way implies allegiance, as “the shirts were freely handed out to anyone in attendance,” according to a statement posted on the organization’s Twitter account [image link via New York Times–we will not be linking directly to hate groups in this article].

The woman killed in Fields’ alleged vehicular attack was Charlottesville resident Heather Heyer, 32, a legal assistant and civil rights activist. A gofundme account set up to raise money for her family by a family friend, Felicia Correa, raised over $225,000 before the campaign was ended a mere day after it was begun. Speaking in place of family members not yet ready to give a public statement, Correa said, “She died doing what was right. My heart is broken, but I am forever proud of her.”

A variety of protesters and press people on the scene ended up filming the vehicular attack, some of which we are reposting below. Viewer discretion is highly advised, as this is an incredibly difficult thing to watch.